


another time, another place

by cosmicenergy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Funny, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, a teeny tiny bit of angst but not really, also i just love sokka's character so there's a lot of that development in here too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:52:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24666424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicenergy/pseuds/cosmicenergy
Summary: Depicted on his forearm was the outline of two crossed swords, like those that he had read about in stories of the warriors who were out fighting the great battles in the war. He was always proud of his marking, not only cause it made him look cool, but he figured that his soulmate must be cool because of the swords too, right?Except, the one problem was that his soulmate wasn’t in the southern water tribe.(Alternatively; everyone is born with a mark that ties them to their soulmate. Let’s just say that Sokka hasn’t had the best luck when it’s come to his.)
Relationships: Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), implied sokka/suki and sokka/yue
Comments: 69
Kudos: 1616





	another time, another place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [queerauthority](https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerauthority/gifts).



> For [Moh](https://queerpjo.tumblr.com/); thanks for listening to me scream about this for ages :)

In the southern water tribe, the idea of a soulmate was one that was passed down from generation to generation with great passion. The idea of finding your other half, the other person that would complete you, the other soul that matched perfectly with your own, was a subject too important to forget.

The marking on a person’s body was the only clue that the spirits would give to connect you with your soulmate. It was only soulmates that could share the same markings; the same images depicted on each other’s skin, and the children of the southern water tribe knew that each of their own markings were special because of this. 

Ever since Sokka could remember, since he had first laid eyes on his own mark, he had wanted to find his soulmate. He grew up with his parents, Hakoda and Kya, who wore their markings with pride. On his father’s back was the outline of waves crashing in a circle; the very same marking that was etched onto his mother’s calf. Hakoda even decided to mirror it’s design in Kya’s necklace when he proposed to her.

Sokka loved their marking. It was powerful and real and reminded him of home and family. Katara loved it just as much as him, always asking their parents to retell the story of what it was like when they had found each other. Every time, Hakoda would laugh and say that he was too young to remember, and _we had been friends since we were babies after all, Katara_. 

But according to legend, when you meet your soulmate your tattoo lights up, glowing and proud, as a message from the spirits that your soul had found its missing piece. Sokka was sure that his father couldn’t forget what that was like, or maybe he just didn’t want to recount that special moment with Kya with anyone else.

As interested as his sister was in his parents markings, her own was even more unique. The symbol of an arrow was marked on the small of her back, and she had discovered it when they were playing in the water as children. Her excitement was instantaneous, and even Sokka felt himself becoming excited for his little sister. 

The excitement, though, was short-lived.

When Katara had excitedly ran up to their parents and Gran Gran, spinning around to show them the design that was on her back, she had received gasps and shocked expressions as a response. 

“That,” Gran Gran said, her voice low and even, “is the marking of the avatar.”

It was legend that the marking of the soulmate of the avatar was the same one in every lifetime. Since the souls of all the past avatars were connected, the spirits connected their soulmates as well.

But the avatar had not been seen for over one hundred years.

Sokka remembers how Gran Gran’s voice echoed over the snowy landscape, as cold and unforgiving as the south pole. He remembers how she looked at Katara, with pity in her eyes but ice in her voice. He remembers how hard Katara had started crying.

Most of all, Sokka remembered hugging his sister and hearing her sob into his chest. His heart ached, most of all, over the fact that she would never get to meet her soulmate because the cycle was broken. There was no avatar, and there had not been in over one hundred years.

He wanted to tell her that the avatar was going to return, but the words got stuck in his throat as he thought of the war and destruction that had followed in the wake of the missing avatar. How could he possibly tell her to have hope, even when Gran Gran didn’t have any.

He thought of the air bender that never was, and the war that always would be.

As they sat there in the snow, her tears slowly drying up on her cheeks, Sokka couldn’t help but think about his mark.

In comparison to Katara’s, it was much more straightforward to say the least. Depicted on his forearm was the outline of two crossed swords, like those that he had read about in stories of the warriors who were out fighting the great battles in the war. He was always proud of his marking, not only cause it made _him_ look cool, but he figured that his soulmate must be cool because of the swords too, _right_?

Except, his soulmate wasn’t in the southern water tribe. 

This was not uncommon, though, since the numbers of the southern water tribe had been dwindling for years as the war progressed on. The south pole wasn’t the most exciting place to visit, anyway.

Still, Sokka had hope. He hoped that one day, after the war was over, that he could leave his village and travel to the north pole in hopes of finding his soulmate. He hoped, for Katara’s sake and for the sake of his village, that the avatar would return to save the world.

-

The war had continued on for many years since Sokka last thought about his soulmate. 

In that time, he had come to forget about the marking on his arm. The cold winters of the south pole proved to be unbearable even with the layers of jackets that he wore, so his marking was left forgotten on his arm underneath all the layers. 

It was not like he had to worry about it, anyway, seeing as the last visitors of the southern water tribe had been the fire nation when they attacked. It left their village in shambles, forced the men of their tribe to leave to go fight the war, and cut off all communication with their sister tribe in the north.

If Sokka was a pessimist, or even a _realist_ , he would say that the situation was not looking good. 

But Sokka was the only warrior left in the southern watertribe. He couldn’t afford to let the people of his village down, so he let the idea of the fire nation winning the war weigh heavy on his shoulders as he pretended that everything was under control.

(It was very much not under control, even the otter penguins that lived around the south pole knew that it was very much _not under control_.)

That was the case, at least, until one afternoon when Sokka took Katara fishing with him. It wasn’t unusual for them to bicker on their fishing trips, as most siblings of the southern water tribe do, but it was _very unusual_ for Katara’s water bending to be powerful. Sokka watched as the water rushed up behind Katara, slicing into the iceberg that was rising behind them. He had never seen her bend the water like this before, and was _not_ looking forward to that bending being turned on him.

“Katara,” he said as the ice behind them cracked loudly, “I think you need to calm down.”

“You don’t get to tell me to calm down!” She yelled back, her arms flying dramatically to her sides which sent another stream of water shooting up behind her. “I do everything around here for you, and you’re so ungrateful! But that’s it, I’m done.”

With one final shout, the ice behind them cracked completely, sending a wave of water crashing down over them. He could hear Katara scream as they were thrown into the freezing cold water, and instinctively he reached out to grab her.

His vision was blurry as he opened his eyes in the saltwater, scanning around to see any sign of his sister. He saw her, eyes wide open, swimming towards the surface. They both broke the surface at the same time, gasping for breath as the cold water numbed their limbs.

“I did-I did that?” Katara muttered, half amazed and half scared as she climbed on top of a nearby piece of floating ice.

“Yeah, you did,” replied Sokka, following his sister’s lead. “Like I said before, it was freaky!”

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her roll her eyes, but his gaze was mainly focused on the cracked iceberg that floated in the sea before them. It was a pale blue color, and appeared to be glowing. But that was impossible, the lights of the south pole must be playing tricks on his eyes. There is no way that Katara’s water bending could create _light_ , and there was especially no way that the ice itself could be glowing either.

Sokka soon found out that he was very, _very_ wrong.

The iceberg burst, and from the place where it once stood appeared a bright blue light. The explosion caused ice to fly everywhere, and Sokka found himself shielding his eyes from the shrapnel. 

_Blue light_ , he thought as he watched it slowly fade away, _how is that possible?_

“Sokka, come on!” He heard Katara shout, watching her bound towards the iceberg. 

“Wait, we don’t know what’s in there!” Sokka yelled back, immediately realising that _literally anything_ could have caused that explosion, even the fire nation. He found himself sighing as he watched his sister ignore what he said. So, maybe stupidly, he decided to follow her anyway.

As they climbed over the top of the iceberg, Sokka thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Was that a _fucking_ bison? In the _fucking_ south pole?

Apparently, Katara didn’t see, or care, about the bison because she propelled herself over the ledge and was running towards the boy laying on the ground next to it.

Sokka rolled his eyes, said a little prayer that he wasn’t about to get eaten, and reluctantly followed his sister. When he got closer he realized that it really was just a boy, a boy that was around the same age as Katara. He was unconscious, with a shaved head and clothing that was way too light to be appropriate for the temperatures of the south pole.

 _What was he doing here?_ Sokka wondered as his sister knelt by the boy’s side. _More importantly, who sent him?_

Lost in thought again, Sokka mindlessly watched his sister check for the boy’s pulse. He appeared harmless enough, and Sokka couldn’t figure out why he felt like he should know him. All of a sudden, the boy awoke. He coughed for a second before opening his eyes, looking at Katara and then up at Sokka and then back at Katara again. Then, the boy started _glowing_. 

Sokka jumped back, startled, but his sister hadn’t moved an inch, her hands still cradling the boy’s head.

Sokka looked closer and then realized that the boy himself wasn’t glowing, but the markings on his head were. They didn’t glow bright blue, like the light that appeared when the iceberg broke, but instead they glowed a soft yellow. It was a color that was warm and inviting and matched the look that was etched across the boy’s face.

Katara still hadn’t moved to get up, though he could see that her eyes were wide open and one of her hands had moved to touch the small of her own back.

Then suddenly it clicked.

They were each other’s _soulmates_. 

Sokka averted his gaze, wanting to give them a moment of privacy but also hesitant to fully trust this boy in the iceberg. 

He was hyper aware of what was going on right now. He could feel the cold antarctic winds swirling around them and hear the breathing of Katara and the boy and the bison echo so loudly around the iceberg. Though he couldn’t hear them speak, he knew that Katara and the boy were wordlessly talking to each other. 

_Katara gets a soulmate and suddenly she’s telepathic_ , he thought to himself. _She’s a waterbender and can read minds? Not fair._

The glow subsided from around them eventually, letting the reality of the situation set in. This boy in the iceberg shared the same markings as Katara (and so did the bison, honestly, but Sokka wasn’t about to think about _that_ right now. At least the creature’s marks didn’t glow). 

They were _soulmates_.

Which also meant, conveniently, that this boy in the iceberg was none other than _the_ avatar.

“Hey,” Sokka said, finally breaking the silence. The two had turned towards him surprised, as if they had forgotten he was even there in the first place. “I love the whole finding-your-soulmate thing as much as the next guy, but can we do that somewhere else? It’s freezing out here.”

“Sokka,” she said, shooting him a look. If looks could kill, Katara’s would be deadly. 

He raised his arms up and looked at her as innocently as possible. “All I’m saying is that we should get back to the village before it gets dark. Unless you guys can glow on command now, in which case we’ve got all night.”

The boy laughed from beside her, finally making a move to stand. 

“This is Sokka, my brother,” said Katara to the boy, finally standing up as well. “And I’m, well, Katara.”

“Of the southern watertribe,” Sokka added for good measure, as if the outfits that they were wearing didn’t give that away already.

The boy’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but he responded cheerfully, “I’m Aang! It’s nice to meet you Sokka, and-” His voice trailed off when he looked at Katara, as if he was still seeing her for the first time.

If Sokka wasn’t already running out of patience, he would say that it was kind of cute.

“Yeah, yeah you’re soulmates,” Sokka said, turning away from the pair and back towards the sea. “Now if you don’t mind, we really should be getting back.”

“With what boat?” His sister called out, and Sokka sighed. He had forgotten that the wave had torn their boat to shreds. With a grimace, he turned back around.

“Any chance you can water-bend us home?”

At that statement, the boy’s entire face lit up. “You’re a water bender? That’s so cool!”

Katara blushed, and folded her hands together. “Yeah kind of. I mean, I am one, just not that good yet.”

“Well, you crushed an entire iceberg so I’d say that’s some improvement,” Sokka deadpanned, earning a laugh from Aang.

“Does that mean you can teach me? I’ll need a water-bending teacher!” Aang said, excitement shown across his face.

 _Is he always this excited?_ Sokka wondered as the two talked amongst themselves. _I guess if I’d been stuck in an iceberg for that long too I’d be pretty happy to be out._

The sun was starting to set over the ocean, the reds and oranges mixing together with the cool blues of the sea. It was going to be dark before they knew it. Gran Gran was probably worried sick, and they still didn’t have a boat.

“Sokka, Aang said we can ride Appa back home!”

“Appa?” Sokka asked, before watching Aang fly atop the bison. “ _That’s_ Appa?”

“Yup!” Aang laughed, petting the top of his head. Appa growled nicely, as if that was a sound Sokka knew bisons can make. “He can fly.”

He saw Katara’s jaw drop just as fast as his own did. “He can _fly_?”

“Yeah, how else would air benders be able to reach the southern air temples?” Aang said as if it was common knowledge. For an air bender, maybe it was. But for two southern water tribe villagers, this was not.

“No way,” said Katara at the same time that Sokka said “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Aang smiled, and Sokka thought that the smile seemed older than he was. Maybe that was an avatar thing. “Hop on and you’ll see!”

-

Gran Gran was nervous for them to return home, so it was no surprise that she was relieved yet mildly concerned when they returned on a flying bison. She stared at them in amazement as they landed in the village, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sokka wasn’t surprised, a flying bison was practically unheard of as-is, especially in the south pole. 

“Katara,” she called out as they slid off the bison, but her gaze was locked on Aang. With grace, he floated down from atop Appa, his clothes billowing around gently. Standing there, Sokka was in awe of him too. Aang may have been a child, as was Katara still, but there was an air of wisdom that floated around him. Maybe that was also an avatar thing.

“Hi Gran Gran,” said Katara after brushing some of Appa’s fur off of her. “Sorry to worry you, but we got a bit distracted.”

Sokka laughed. A bit distracted was the understatement of the century. Katara had found her soulmate and the _avatar_. All Sokka had done was fail to catch some fish and get some of Appa’s fur in his mouth.

“Is that an air bender?” Gran Gran asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Still, it carried across the snow as if the wind was doing it for her. Whispers spread like wildfire between the villagers that had gathered behind his grandmother to welcome them home.

Katara nodded, and Aang smiled sheepishly. “Gran Gran, meet Aang.”

Her eyes grew impossibly large, as if she was seeing Aang in a new light. Then, she smiled softly. “Well, if you returned with the avatar, there’s always tomorrow to go fishing.”

-

Sokka wasn’t sure what he was expecting to happen when they brought the avatar back to their village. He wasn’t sure if he was expecting the war to magically be over or if he was expecting Aang to actually be over one hundred years old. What he hadn’t expected, however, was the fire nation to find him so quickly.

He was inside his tent when he heard the first scream. Ducking out of his tent he saw the black smoke in the air before he saw the ship itself; large and looming over the horizon.

No _fucking_ way.

“Katara! Aang!” He shouted, eyes scanning for any sign of his sister or the avatar. 

“Sokka!” He heard her shout, and turned around to see them running towards them. “What do we do?”

 _Protect the village_ , he thought, then looked at Aang. Flashes of fear and determination flickered over the avatar’s face. _He could help us, maybe._

Sokka frowned, the smell of smoke growing stronger with every passing second.

“We need to protect Aang. They’ll leave the village alone as long as the avatar isn’t here, right?” He said after a moment, looking only at Aang. Sure, he still didn’t fully trust him, but he was the avatar and if anyone was going to save the world, they shouldn’t die down in the south pole. “Hide, or take Appa and leave. It’s too dangerous for you to stay.”

He could tell Aang wanted to protest, to stay and fight, but Katara put a hand on his shoulder. “Sokka’s right, you need to go.”

Aang’s face hardened, and he nodded. “I’m not leaving for good, though. If you need help I’ll come back.”

Sokka nodded, turning back towards his tent. If they were going to fight the fire nation, he might as well try to look the part of a warrior. As he went back inside, he could hear Aang and Katara talking outside in hushed voices. He knew this would be hard on her, but they had to think about the fate of the world right now. The southern water tribe was important, but the avatar was more.

He could hear the chaos growing outside and he painted his face, carefully with precision as he remembered how his father had done it. If Hakoda was here, he would know what to do. As Sokka put on his armor, he looked down at his forearm. The swords were still there, glistening with temptation to drop everything and search the world for his other half.

But his soulmate could wait, had to wait. His village came first.

He exhaled, gaze hardening as he left the tent, one hand on boomerang the other holding his forearm. 

_Soulmate, if you’re out there_ , he thought as he saw the ship docking, _I’ll find you soon_.

As he walked towards the ship, the elders were busy ushering the children inside their houses. He would not let anything happen to them. But he didn’t see Katara, though he hoped she was helping Aang hide. If anything could end the war, it would be him.

Sokka briefly wondered why he was putting so much faith in the young boy that he barely knew, but that thought was chased out of his head as the ship lowered it’s ramp, smashing into the snowy ground in front of Sokka.

The fire nation warriors were even more intimidating in person, and Sokka could help the feeling of nerves bubbling up in his stomach. One soldier wore a different uniform, and Sokka assumed that was the captain of the ship, though, as the man approached him down the ramp he had a feeling that the man was not much older than he was.

 _Who is that?_ Sokka wondered at the same moment the man shouted “Where is he?”

His voice was full of desperation, and Sokka immediately knew who he was talking about.

Aang.

The avatar.

The only person that could stop the fire nation from winning the war and bringing peace to the world.

Sokka didn’t answer the man’s question, so he came closer. By the time he reached the bottom of the ramp Sokka could tell that he was slightly taller than he was, but way more built. It must have been all the training from the fire nation, and Sokka had not had a real sparring partner in years. 

“I said, where is he?” The man asked again, voice booming around the otherwise empty landscape. 

They made eye contact, and Sokka could see the confusion and anger in his eyes.

“Who?” was all Sokka could bring himself to say. The sun was making it hard to see as the man came closer, its rays bouncing off the snow illuminating the center of the village. It made Sokka’s vision hazy and glow around the edges, which was very distracting for the current situation.

“The avatar,” was all he said before taking out his sword and pointing it at Sokka. Finally, this was about to get interesting. 

Sokka ignored the way the light bounced off the man, making him glow as he held boomerang up. The man lunged and Sokka rolled away, barely missing the man’s blade. He could feel his arm burning, had he been hit already?

Sokka pushed the feeling away, throwing boomerang as the sword was swung in his direction again. But this time it made full contact, tossing Sokka backwards into the snow. His arm was burning now, and though he looked down at it the sun was making it too bright to see. All Sokka could see was the lone fire nation soldier and a boy that had appeared.

He could hear the boy say something, but Sokka’s head was too fuzzy to fully make out what he was saying. Before the boy had a chance to say anything else, boomerang came back and slammed into the head of the soldier who turned to lunge at Sokka again.

He prepared for the impact of the sword, praying that the man missed his heart or head but all he felt instead was a large gust of wind blow the sword out of his hand. 

It was Aang. He’d come back.

“What are you doing!” Sokka shouted. “I had everything under control!”

Aang looked at him, and then back at the man, before saying “if I go with you _will_ you leave this village alone.”

No, there was no way he could do that. He was the avatar, for spirits sake, he couldn’t just willingly give himself up to the fire nation. 

They made eye contact, and Sokka could see emotion cloud the boy’s vision. He knew why he was doing it. It was to protect Katara, to keep her safe, and honestly Sokka understood. He would do anything to protect his sister, and he couldn’t even imagine what he would do if his soulmate was in trouble.

His arm was still tingling as they led Aang aboard the boat, the ramp raising to trap Aang inside. He looked over at Katara and saw tears in her eyes. She had just found her soulmate, only to lose him within a matter of days.

Aang wasn’t dead, yet at least. They still had time to go save him. Forgetting about his arm, he turned to Katara and said “are you in the mood to go chase a fire nation ship?”

Despite everything, she shot him a smile. “Bring it on.”

-

When they had landed on Kyoshi island, Sokka thought they would only be stopping for a few days, if that. In order to stay on schedule to reach the northern water tribe within a couple weeks, they had to make sure to keep moving. But Aang had argued that Appa was tired and that they should rest in this village for a couple of days.

After seeing all the attention that Aang was receiving, Sokka assumed their stay had little to do with Appa’s recovery.

The island of Kyoshi was nice, for that of an earth village at least, and they had a giant statue of avatar Kyoshi which was pretty neat, according to Aang. Sokka thought it was more scary than anything else, but maybe it was just an avatar thing to appreciate creepy-looking statues of your past lives.

The people of the village rejoiced at the news of the avatar returning, but Sokka was wary at some of the looks they were receiving from some of the townspeople. He didn’t trust them, and the more people that knew where they were the more likely it was that the fire nation could catch up to them. They had managed to that fire nation ship that carried the banished prince for a couple weeks now, but Sokka could tell they were pushing their luck.

They couldn’t stay for long, and yet Aang didn’t seem like he wanted to leave. Katara knew they should leave too, but Sokka could tell she enjoyed seeing Aang happy more than the idea of getting back on Appa and continuing on their way to the north pole. 

He couldn’t argue with her even if he tried. The idea of sleeping on a _real_ bed for one more night was just too tempting. So that’s what he told himself, just one more night here, one more day on Kyoshi island, one more afternoon training with Suki. 

Despite their rocky start, the two became fast friends. Sokka liked training with the Kyoshi warriors, especially because he hadn’t been able to do that since before his dad left to go fight the war. It felt good to work with others again that weren’t his sister or the avatar. 

Suki was skilled, he had to give her that. She kicked his ass in almost every drill that they did, but Sokka loved the competition. 

Suki was also _cool_ , to say the least. Intimidating and intelligent, yet kind, she was someone that Sokka found he could trust. During their third day in Kyoshi, he noticed a mark on her neck.

“Hey Suki,” he asked bluntly, when he was done sparring with one of the other Kyoshi warriors. “Is that your mark?”

Instinctively, she pulled a hand up to her neck and covered it before letting out a deep breath and dropping her hand. She nodded, before craning her neck so Sokka could get a better look. “Yeah, it's a snake but I like to think a creature from the spirit world ‘cause that’s a lot cooler.”

Sokka laughed. “That’s cool anyway! I’ve never seen an animal marking before.”

He could help but notice the feeling of disappointment that was creeping up into his stomach. He saw her smile at him before she turned away to put down her fans. Her smile was addicting, and a small part of him wished that he could reach out and touch her arm and find out if there was someway, somehow that they were each other’s soulmates. But he held himself back, instead choosing to put away his own sword. 

“Done for the day?” She asked him. He nodded, before dramatically stretching his arms and faking a yawn.

She laughed and pushed open the building’s door, sunlight flooding into the training space. Sokka smiled at her, standing up to meet her at the exit.

“Same time tomorrow?” He asked, shooting her a grin.

She smiled back at him, though her expression was more sad than happy. “Shouldn’t you three be on your way soon?”

“Yeah, but just because we should doesn’t mean we have to.” She rolled her eyes in response. Whatever she was about to reply with was cut off as scream pierced through the air.

Instantly they both looked at each other, eyebrows raised and hands on their weapons. Sokka could smell the burning air and looked upwards just in time to see the sky being covered in black ashes.

“Fuck,” he muttered as Suki asked “fire nation?”

He nodded grimly. “Fire nation.”

Another scream rang out and from where they were standing on the hill Sokka could see a house go up in flames. Without thinking, he took off down the mountainside. 

_Where is Katara?_ He thought, hearing Suki’s footsteps echo behind him. _Wherever she is, Aang must be as well. We need to get out of here._

“There!” Shouted Suki as she caught up to him, pointing a finger at the fire nation soldiers that were ransacking the village. Prince Zuko was at the forefront, scanning the area for any signs of what Sokka could only assume could be the avatar. He prayed that Aang wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

“There!” He heard a fire nation soldier shout, and Sokka looked up. The soldier was pointing at him and Suki, and before he realized it the prince was looking right at them. Without his helmet, Sokka might have called him handsome. If, that is, they weren’t about to get captured by his troops.

“Run!” Sokka shouted instinctively, making the choice to run to the left and hoped that Suki would follow him. He could hear her footsteps following him, and the even louder sound of the fire nation soldiers running after them. As he turned the corner he looked quickly around for a hiding spot, eyes stopping at an otherwise empty building with a functioning door. 

“In here,” he said quietly, jumping inside the building. He waited for Suki to come crashing in behind him before slamming the door shut. 

“Quick, we need to barricade this a bit,” said Suki, and Sokka agreed by moving one of the only pieces of furniture in front of the door.

Suddenly, there was a crash into the side of the building. Sokka’s back was against the wall, and he felt the impact of another body crashing into it.

He heard a muffle voice from outside shout “Prince Zuko, are you okay.”

 _Oh shit,_ Sokka thought, _the prince is right on the outside._

He could hear the prince mutter something from the other side of the wall, then moments later shouted for his guards to capture the avatar and the waterbender and the warrior. His heart swelled momentarily with pride as he realized that _he_ was the warrior, but it quickly left as he heard the building next to them collapse in flames. 

He could see Suki in front of him, eyes wide and panicked, clearly thinking of an escape plan. The wall shook behind them, as if a body had crashed into it again, and instinctively Sokka lunged forward and grabbed her hand.

“Hey!” she whispered, but didn’t push him off. 

“I know I know, you don’t need protecting,” he said, hearing another crash into the wall behind them. “But that doesn’t mean I still don’t want to.”

She smiled at him, and squeezed his hand ever so slightly. 

He felt the burning sensation in his arm again, and looked down to see his forearm glowing softly through his clothes. She looked at him in confusion and Sokka just stared at his arm. He could hear the prince’s shouting through the wall. He was right next to them, but Sokka was more worried about his mark.

It was glowing bright and _burning_. Two swords illuminated in that same soft yellow glow that he had seen Aang and Katara’s arrows glow in. He released her hand so he could reach over and touch his skin.

He heard the prince wince in pain on the other side of the wall, but Sokka hadn’t heard an attack hit him. Was he injured?

“Sokka…” he heard Suki say, her voice trailing off before she could finish. 

He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He knew her mark wasn’t glowing, because her mark wasn’t the same as his. The marking of a snake was curled around her neck, black and solid and not at all the same as Sokka’s.

“We need to get out of here,” was all he could bring himself to say. Soulmate or not he was going to protect her and get them out of here. He could hear the prince’s voice growing farther away as the glowing from his mark began to die down.

“I think now’s our chance,” he said, voice barely above a whisper as he fitted his sleeve back over his mark. He didn’t meet her eyes, but held out his hand for her to take anyway. She took it and they ran back out into the street.

“Where’s the avatar?” she asked, as they both realized the clearing was empty.

“I’m not sure, but wherever he is the prince can’t be far away,” Sokka replied as his eyes scanned their surroundings. At that moment he heard a scream that sounded like it came from the direction of the water. He looked at Suki and their eyes met and his gaze softened.

 _Suki_ , he thought, holding her gaze for a moment longer. _She’s not my soulmate_.

“Let’s go!” She said as the screams got louder, this time taking his hand and pulling him towards the water. Sokka couldn’t help but smile slightly, despite the situation, and ran with her.

When they reached the water, Sokka couldn’t believe his eyes. Was Aang on top of the unagi? Suki’s jaw had dropped, and Sokka assumed his expression was the same. 

“What the _fuck_ is he doing?” She asked, and Sokka couldn’t do anything but shrug.

“He’s the avatar, why should I know what he’s doing?”

“Cause you’re his friend!”

“But, I’m not the avatar!” Sokka said, laughing slightly as he watched Aang douse a bunch of fire nation soldiers in water. The prince was becoming increasingly angry, and Sokka was finding it pretty funny. Then, Sokka saw Katara and Appa by the water’s edge, far enough away that the soldiers hadn’t noticed them.

“Sokka,” Suki said, grabbing him by the soldiers. “You have to go.”

“But your island,” he said, looking back at the village that was in shambles. 

She smiled at him, a real genuine smile that Sokka took a mental picture of. “We’ll be okay. You need to go protect the avatar.”

Sokka nodded, expecting this to be the end of their conversation. He froze in surprise as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Go,” was the last thing she said before pushing him down the hill towards Katara.

Katara, who was already on top of Appa, waved at him. “Let’s go!” As soon as he climbed on Appa took off, flying towards Aang and the unagi. He was still clutching his arm when Aang landed on top of Appa, leaving the fire nation soldiers soaking wet on the shore.

“Are you alright Sokka?” he asked after he dried off.

Immediately, Sokka let go of his arm. “Yeah, I’m fine! Why would you ask?”

Aang looked at him quizzically. “Cause you were holding your arm and had this _look_ on your face.”

“What kind of look?”

“You know,” said Aang, while contorting his face to copy Sokka. He scrunched his eyebrows and wrinkled his nose. “This one!”

“Hey! I _do not_ look like that!”

-

The first night he slept on Appa after staying on Kyoshi island, he was tormented with dreams.

They weren’t nightmares, per say, but the feelings of longing that grew in the pits of his stomach were just as bad as the fear that usually grows in his mind during the night. He dreamt that he saw Katara and Aang together, happy and in love and smiling. Through the blurs of his dreams, he also saw his father and mother, how happy and free they looked together, their matching marks glowing even in his sleep.

And then he was alone. His vision grew dark and Katara and Aang, Hakoda and Kya, all faded into black, leaving him all by himself.

Then, he heard the sobs, and the vision before him shifted.

It was still dark, but Sokka could begin to work out the outlines of two figures that appeared before him. There was a boy, Sokka noticed, who was on his knees. He appeared to be crying, though Sokka didn’t know why. He felt the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around him, do anything to stop the tears that were falling down his cheeks. The other figure spoke suddenly, and Sokka's attention shifted away from the boy for a split second. 

“Your sister was born lucky,” the voice boomed, causing the boy to flinch. Instinctively, Sokka tried to reach out, to shield the boy, to do _something_ , but found he was unable to move, as though his feet were stuck to the floor and his arms were bound at his sides. 

“But you,” said the man, turning fully to face who Sokka presumed was his son. “ _You were lucky to be born_.”

Sokka was enraged, there was no way what that man was saying was true. How could a father possibly say that to his own son. Hakoda would have never even thought to say something of that nature to either one of his children. Sokka tried to call out, but his voice rang out silent. Then he saw the fire come from the man’s hand, explode through Sokka’s mind racing towards the boy.

“No!” Sokka called out, but his words fell on deaf ears. The fire engulfed the boy and his father, and began to race towards Sokka. Just as the fire began to lick at his feet, he felt himself jolt awake, heart racing.

The words that the figure had spoken echoing around his head. He shook his head, attempting to forget about whatever it was his dream was trying to tell him, and go back to sleep. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was supposed to know this boy.

Sokka’s soul was _aching_. 

_There was no way that was just a dream. It was too real_ , he thought as he began to slip back into unconsciousness. _I promise I’ll help you, whoever you are._

Though he managed to sleep, the boy and the father never returned.

-

The home of the northern water tribe was just as spectacular as Sokka could have ever imagined. Buildings made out of ice and snow stretched as far as the eye could see.

It was breathtaking, to say the least. Sokka never knew he could feel so at home in a place so far from his own. And the people of the northern water tribe welcomed them in as their own, excited to see the avatar and have visitors from their sister tribe for the first time in many years.

The first night they had arrived, they were treated to a feast in the palace. Water benders and important northern water tribe members alike were littered throughout the room, and Sokka had never wished that he somehow could rebuild the southern water tribe more than in this very moment. 

It was when the daughter of the leader of the water tribe walked in the room that Sokka’s jaw dropped. She was beautiful, to say the least. She radiated beauty and grace as she took her seat at the table across from Sokka. Every ounce of his self control was used to avert his gaze and not blatantly stare at her. 

(Which was hard, because it was impossible to not want to look real beauty in the eyes.)

Eventually, she warmed up to him, and he even made her laugh once or twice, which he considered a very big success. Making a pretty girl laugh was pretty much just as successful as it got, aside from being the avatar and saving the world. Good thing that was Aang’s job.

In the weeks that followed their arrival, Aang and Katara set off to find water-bending teachers. Since he didn’t really want to sit around and watch them play with puddles, Sokka decided to go explore.

As he walked around the palace grounds one late afternoon, he couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the sculptures of ice that lined the halls. As he passed them, he began to recognize their faces. They were statues of the past avatar in the cycle. He saw Roku and Kyoshi, Kuruk and Yangchen. 

_They’re going to make statues of Aang one day_ , he thought to himself, taking a second to pause in front of the final statue. Avatar Roku’s eyes gazed back at him, strong and confident and he wondered if in a past life if they were friends. 

“If the avatar can last more than one lifetime”, he wondered aloud, “can friendships?”

He heard a giggle echo out from behind him and he jumped, tearing his eyes away from Avatar Roku’s statue. It was the princess, _Yue_ , standing there with her hand covering her mouth, humor written in her eyes. 

Sokka froze, unsure of what to say. “Oh, hello princess. I didn’t see you there.”

“Just call me Yue,” she said and smiled. 

That smile was perfect, and it reminded Sokka of the statues he was just looking at. Perfect, picturesque, untouchable.

“Want to take a walk?” she asked, face warm and inviting. Sokka felt himself smiling as he agreed. He hadn’t realized it was already nighttime until they had made their way back outside and the light of the sun had made way for the shadows cast by the moon.

If he thought the northern water tribe was breathtaking in daylight, he was completely unprepared for how it looked during the night. The moonlight gave the landscape an ethereal glow, and even though the southern water tribe was made of snow too, Sokka had never seen moonlight make somewhere so beautiful.

The almost-full moon’s presence in the sky was indescribable, and Sokka could practically feel the moon reaching out to pull him towards the water's edge. Water bender or not, every member of the southern water tribe knew how powerful of a force the moon was. It was clear there were no exceptions in the north.

“I’ve always loved the moon,” said Yue, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. He watched her as she gazed upwards at its surface fondly, as if she was looking at an old friend. 

“Me too,” Sokka said softly. “It shines just as bright here as it does at home.” 

Yue nodded in agreement as she turned to face Sokka. There they stood, the moonlight casting shadows down across their faces. Somehow, the way the moonlight touched her face made her even more beautiful than she already was. 

She truly was a princess, and Sokka was simply just a kid from the southern water tribe.

But then, to Sokka’s surprise, she leaned in and kissed him. It was gentle and sweet, and Sokka felt himself relax into her touch.

He opened his eyes to see her staring right back at him. The glow from the moonlight made her ethereal, and there was absolutely no way that _she_ just kissed _him_. 

And then, she began to glow impossibly brighter, as if she was being lit from the very core of her being. She gasped, looking down at the palms of her hands. Etched into her palms was the marking of a crescent moon, glowing soft and yellow in front of Sokka’s own two eyes.

Sokka pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal the swords on his arm, as if the clothes he was wearing were somehow stopping their light. But his own marking was dark and dull, no burning feeling or bright warm light. 

He watched Yue’s eyes shift from her own marking to his own, and then up to his eyes. Her expression was unreadable, but the smile that she gave him was more happy than sad. It made his heart heavy.

Why wouldn’t his marking light up? Why weren’t they the same design? Why were the spirits being so unfair?

“Yue,” he said, voice soft. “I…”

She nodded her head, as if she understood without needing words. “Sokka, it’s okay.”

He could hear the lump in her throat, and could tell that it most definitely was not okay, but he nodded his head anyway.

“Like you said before,” she whispered, voice cracking ever so slightly. Instinctively, Sokka reached out to grab her hand, just as the glow was fading away. “Maybe if friendships can last more than one lifetime, so can soulmates?”

He looked at her with a confused expression and she laughed, squeezing his hand. “What I’m trying to say is, maybe you were my soulmate in my past life. You’re not in this one, and that’s okay. Maybe this was just a way of my soul saying hello to yours again.”

Without thinking, Sokka enveloped her in a hug, and as she wrapped his arms around him they felt more familiar than those from a princess of the northern watertribe should.

“I like that idea,” he murmured into her hair. He felt her cheeks dampen against the collar of his coat. “Yue, I’m sorry.”

She pulled away, wiping her eyes before he could see her cry any more. “Don’t be.”

Sokka was about to say something else before he heard his name shouted across the plaza. He glanced at Yue, concerned, before realizing that the voice belonged to Katara.

“Sokka!” She shouted again, the level of panic rising in her voice.

“Over here!” He called out, motioning for Yue to follow him down the steps. “Katara, what’s wrong?”

Katara was breathless as she reached them. Her eyes wide and fearful as she said “he took Aang! Zuko took Aang!”

“How? Where did Zuko even come from? And how did he even get here?” Sokka asked, a thousand questions running rampant through his head as Katara simply shook her head. “Wasn’t he in the avatar state? Or the spirit world? Or wherever he goes when he talks to important people?”

Katara nodded, face grown more solemn by the minute. “That’s part of the problem. He needs to be returned here,” she said, motioning to the doors that led where she came from in the spirit oasis, “where he entered the spirit world or I'm not sure what will happen.”

Sokka nodded. He glazed quickly at Yue, and her expression mirrored Katara’s one of concern. “Okay, so the plan is to find Zuko, kick his ass, and bring Aang back?”

Yue laughed humorlessly as Katara went “aren’t those _all_ of our plans?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

-

The three of them had split up to search for Zuko and Aang; Yue stayed in the spirit oasis area in case Zuko decided to return to the scene of the crime, while Katara and Sokka each picked a different direction to go in.

Sokka returned defeated, unsure of where Katara and Appa had flown off to. He trusted that she was going to be able to find Aang, but the possibility of losing him to the fire nation sent his stomach into knots. He paused outside of the spirit oasis, taking in a deep breath of the cold night air, taking one more glance up at the moon.

At that exact moment, Sokka swore he was dreaming. The moon in the sky seemed to flicker impossibly, as if it was fighting to say whole, before disappearing out of the sky completely. The darkness that grew over the northern water tribe was alarming, and Sokka heard the growing sounds of voices talking inside.

“Where the _fuck_ did the moon go?” He asked, panic growing in his voice as he saw that only Yue, his sister, and General Iroh of the fire nation were in the room. He quickly pointed at Iroh, who though looked non-threatening, definitely could not be trusted. “And what are you doing here?”

Iroh sighed, worry written all of his face. All he said to Sokka was “Zhao killed the spirit of the moon.”

Eyes widening in shock, Sokka turned to Yue and Katara to see if they believed what the man in front of him was saying. The grim look on both of their faces made him realize that everything that Iroh said was true.

“But, how?” Was all Sokka could manage, taking a tentative step towards the pool of water in the spirit oasis.

“Zhao’s judgement is clouded, and out of rage he killed the spirit of the moon with his firebending,” said Iroh. “Without the moon spirit, I am not sure how we can restore the balance between them.”

Sokka stared down at the pool of water. One lone fish swam in a circle, though he could tell that the path was meant to be followed by two. The moon was so important to water benders, but more than that was important to the entire world. They needed to find a way to fix it.

“Where’s Aang?” He said after a moment of silence, daring to look at Katara. 

“He’s, well I’m not exactly sure what he’s doing. But he’s using the spirits to help stop the fire nation soldiers,” she replied, eyes for some reason not looking away from Yue. 

“Okay,” said Sokka. “Then now all we have to worry about is putting the moon back in the sky, which sounds impossible and definitely is impossible, but--”

He was cut off by Yue raising her hand. Her hand was trembling, and Sokka could see the marking of the moon still covering her palm. 

“Growing up,” she began, voice tentative and low, “I was touched by the moon spirit. A part of them is still inside me, and I can feel it calling out to me. It gave my life back to me, so now it’s my turn to give life back to the moon.”

Sokka didn’t want to believe it, didn’t want to watch her potentially lose herself for the moon. “There must be another way,” he insisted, taking a step towards her, resting his hands on her arms. Her body was unnaturally cold, as if her very life force was already leaving her body.

“There’s no other way,” she said softly, touching Sokka’s cheek with her hand, the marking glowing softly again. “It’s my destiny, Sokka.”

And then she kissed him, just as soft and sweet as the first time. But her lips were cold, and as they parted Sokka heard Yue’s last breath slip out from her lips. There was nothing else he could do except hold her, until he felt her beginning to disappear, becoming lighter and lighter until she seemingly vanished into thin air.

The spirit of the moon was left instead, placed into the pool gently by Iroh.

At that moment, Sokka didn’t care who was there watching him. He let himself cry, and felt Katara wrap her arms around him the same way he had done for her all those years ago. 

Yue was gone, and he was her soulmate, but she wasn’t his. Though his mark wasn’t the one that glowed, Sokka still felt more hollow and alone then he ever had before.

-

As they flew towards the earth kingdom the following day, with Aang navigating on Appa’s head, his sister finally broke the heavy silence that settled between them. Her voice was quiet as she spoke, and she was using a gentle tone that she usually reserved for when she was talking to Aang and Appa.

“Was she your soulmate?” She asked, staring at Sokka with such intensity that if she wasn’t his younger sister he might have been intimidated.

(Okay, he still was kind of. But only just a little bit.)

Sokka sighed, subconsciously covering his marking with his hand. “Kind of?”

Katara raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean kind of?”

“Well,” Sokka began, unsure if what he was about to say was even going to make sense. Then again, the idea of soulmates and the spirits and the avatar didn’t make much sense anyway, so he continued. “When she kissed me the first time, the marking on the palm of her hand began to glow. Our markings didn’t match, though. Her’s was the moon, and mine hasn’t changed.”

Katara was quiet, and he could tell she was thinking just as hard as he was about it.

“I don’t know what it means, honestly, but it’s not the first time it’s happened either,” Sokka continued, surprised at his own honesty. “Back on Kyoshi island, my marking glowed when I held Suki’s hand, but her marking didn’t. I didn’t know what that meant then, but we were a little busy with the fire nation for me to really worry about it.”

“Sokka, I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged, and that was all he could really do. “It’s alright, Katara. Nobody said that soulmates were easy.”

She nodded, and simultaneously both their gazes shifted to the avatar. Sokka thought for a second about the boy in his dream, the boy covered in fire, and something in his gut stirred. Were the spirits trying to tell him that was his soulmate?

“But Katara,” he continued after a moment of looking at Aang. “I’m glad you found yours.”

She smiled back at him, and it was the same smile he had missed during all these months of traveling, of being far away from home. It was the childish, ecstatic smile that she wore all throughout their childhood, when their mother was still alive and their father was still home and their family was still together. Sokka had missed that, but he was proud that Aang was able to bring that back.

“Me too.”

-

Toph Beifong, otherwise known as the blind bandit, was the most terrifying earth bender that Sokka had ever met. Given the fact that pretty much the only other earth bender he knew was King Bumi, it was still some pretty high praise. 

When she joined their group, or their _gaang_ as he liked to call it, she fit right in. However, she did have some problems about Sokka's group name of choice.

(“Get it guys? ‘Cause the ga- stands for gang and the -ang part represents Aang! We’re Aang’s gang!” He had received a swift punch in the arm from Toph, a glare from Katara, and a fond eye roll from Aang for that one.)

But regardless, Toph was the best person in the world to teach Aang earth-bending. Though she didn't exude patience, it was good enough. She was a force to be reckoned with, and that’s exactly what Aang needed.

As he watched them train, he began to realize just how proud of Aang he had become. He was already a master airbender, managed to master waterbending within weeks, and was making huge progress in earth-bending as well.

The one problem that still remained was finding him a fire-bending teacher. For the first time in months, he thought back to his dream and how the boy was engulfed in flames and shuddered. Fire was _dangerous_ , and definitely not something that just anyone could teach him. They needed to find someone capable, skilled, and willing to be hunted down by the fire lord himself.

And it’s not like that person was going to magically show up at their doorstep, either.

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts of Aang’s fire-bending teacher out of his mind for now. That was a later problem. Now, they just had to focus on reaching the western air temple for some safety and then they could figure out what to do from there.

For some reason, his mind wandered to the fire nation prince. He was one of the best fire-benders that they had ever encountered and despite the fact that he had tried to kill them countless times, he would have made a good teacher. Sokka laughed to himself, as if the beloved fire nation prince would side with the avatar over his own father.

He let the thoughts drift from his mind, but he found the thought of Zuko lingering behind after all else had left.

-

Later on, as they were flying through the night, Sokka couldn’t help but lay awake, his thoughts bouncing around loudly in his head.

 _What if I never find my soulmate?_ Sokka thought, looking over to where Aang and Katara were sleeping next to each other on Appa’s back. In sleep, the stresses of the day were wiped away and Sokka almost thought they could pass as two normal people, happy and in love and not needed to save the world. 

He wished, for both Katara and Aang’s sake, that it were true.

He then thought about Suki, and how his marking lit up when their village was under attack by the fire nation prince and how hers didn’t. He thought of Yue, about how he cared for her so deeply, but it was only her marking that glowed instead of both of theirs.

He still didn’t understand why they had glowed, though. Why his swords glow around Suki even though her own marking didn’t match his own. Why did Yue’s moon on her palm glow so brightly when he had held her in his arms, but his own marking did not?

He loved them both in different ways, and he knew that. But isn't love enough? Isn’t that what soulmates were supposed to be?

 _Maybe there are different kinds of soulmates,_ he thought after a second. _And maybe, you can choose your own._

Sokka shook his head and turned over in his bed. It was foolish thinking, really. There was no way that the spirits would trust everyone to pick the right person without any help. 

But Suki was strong and brave and inspiring and Yue was kind and generous and smart, so then _why_ couldn’t either one of them have been Sokka’s soulmate?

He closed his eyes and pushed the thought of them out of his head, instead deciding to focus on the feeling of Appa breathing underneath him and the wind blowing around him. The moon above them glowed down, so bright that even through his closed eyes he could still see it.

 _Yue_.

Even though she was gone now, she would always be a part of him. And maybe that’s why they weren’t soulmates. Even though she would always be a part of him, she didn’t complete him. They weren’t perfect matches, and deep down their souls knew that.

Maybe, Sokka was Yue’s soulmate, but she wasn’t his.

And maybe, Suki was Sokka’s soulmate, but he wasn’t hers.

They would always be unreachable, unattainable, to Sokka. So close, yet so far away.

 _The spirits_ , Sokka thought as he finally drifted off to sleep, _are cruel._

-

The next morning they had stopped to get water and let Appa rest for a bit before reaching the Western Air temple. Apparently, according to Aang, Appa needed extra breaks nowadays. As they sat around the water’s edge, recounting their tales in Ba Sing Se, Jet’s name was brought up in conversation. 

Immediately, Toph began to make fun of Katara. “I always knew you found him cute!” 

Katara scoffed. “No I did not. Why would I?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Sokka asked, wiggling his eyebrows as he egged her on. 

“He’s not bad looking, I guess, he’s just not my type. Do you think he’s cute, Sokka?”

Sokka laughed, not surprised that she tried to turn the conversation back on him. “I’m not saying he’s not cute, I’m just saying I thought you had higher standards, Katara.”

“Oh so you think he’s cute now?”

Sokka rolled his eyes. “What can I say, we all can’t have crushes on the avatar.”

That comment earned a hearty laugh from Toph, who slapped Aang on the back. He didn’t seem to notice however, as he was too busy avoiding Sokka’s eye contact and trying to hide the blush that was crawling up his cheeks. Katara wasn’t fairing much better, as her skin too was flushed with crimson.

“Look, I’m not saying I would date Jet. He’s just not my type and also almost got us killed one too many times. And he tried to destroy that village so he’s _really_ not included on my list of people that I would hypothetically date.” Sokka continued, making an exasperated face.

“Well then, boomerang boy, who would you consider to be on that list?” Toph asked, finally letting Aang out of her grasp.

“Well, let’s see,” Sokka said, pretending to stroke an imaginary beard. “Would you like the condensed list or the full one.”

“You know what, forget I asked,” Toph said. “I can tell you won’t stop talking about this.”

Sokka laughed. Truthfully, he didn’t have a list. His soulmate was out there somewhere, so whoever they were had to fill that top spot. While he was lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed that Katara and Aang had wandered off, leaving him and Toph in the clearing by themselves. 

He watched her bend some of the dirt in her hands, how the material flowed into whatever shape she desired at a moment’s notice. Toph was a really powerful bender. He was glad that she was on their side. 

“Hey Toph,” he said after a moment. “Do you have a soulmate mark?”

The earth that she was bending froze as her hands came to a stop. “Truthfully, I’m not sure,” she said, letting the earth fall to the ground freely. “Since I’m blind, I’ve never really been able to tell if I have one or not. My parents never talked about that kind of stuff, since they wanted to keep me sheltered and all.”

“Oh,” said Sokka, nodding even though he knew she wouldn’t be able to see that he was. “I guess that makes sense.”

She shook her head. “Honestly, I’ve never really cared that much either. I always figured that if I have one I’ll find them eventually, you know, since they’re my soulmate and all. But it would be nice to know if they’re really out there.”

“Yeah,” said Sokka, as he thought of Suki and Yue and the boy in his dreams. “Sorry if that was a bit personal, I was just curious ‘cause you know those two lovebird flaunt it all the time.”

“Ah, twinkle toes,” Toph laughed. “They may be obnoxious sometimes, but I’m glad they found each other.”

In the distance, he could see their two figures making their way back to the group’s makeshift campsite. 

“Yeah, I am too, Toph.”

In that moment, Sokka thought about their mother and father and how strong their soulmate bond made them. If anyone was able to experience that, he was glad it was Katara.

-

Sokka had never been happier to see another air temple in his entire life. 

As soon as the gang settled into their new home (or as close to a home as they were going to get), Sokka immediately began thinking about finding a fire-bending teacher for Aang. 

“Sokka,” said Katara as she was rolling out some sleeping bags. “Just relax for now. I know we need to find Aang a teacher, but it can wait until after we get a full night’s sleep tonight.”

“But it’s still light out!” Sokka argued back. Though he had been traveling with his little sister for months now, it didn’t mean that they bickered any less. “We’re wasting precious fire-bending time!”

He heard Aang laugh from somewhere to his left at something Toph said, and sighed. Maybe Katara was right. Even though they were running out of time, they could take one day off. After all, it’s not like they didn’t deserve it.

He decided instead to explore the air temple with Aang, because what are the chances that another air bender is going to trust him enough to show him around an abandoned yet sacred air temple. 

Night had fallen by the time they made it back to where Appa, Katara, and Toph were all sleeping for the night. Sokka looked away, pretending to fix his sleeping bag, as Aang walked over to Katara and wrapped his arms around her. His heart ached, not with jealousy, but with longing, for the day that he was able to do that with his soulmate.

It wasn’t until everyone had fallen silent, only the wind gently blowing through the air temple, did Sokka hear a rustling in the bushes. Immediately on guard, he sat up, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to somehow see in the dark. To his left, Toph stirred from her sleep and Aang raised his head across from him.

“Someone’s coming,” whispered Toph. “I can feel it.”

Instinctively, his hand shot to find boomerang as the figure entered the other side of the clearing holding what looked like a torch.

 _How did they get here?_ Sokka wondered as he stood up. _We only found this place because of the avatar, so who could this be?_

By now, the rest of the group was fully awake and standing, Aang holding out a protective arm in front of Katara. Somewhere deep inside his brain, Sokka realized that if this was an ambush, they would have already been under attack. Maybe this figure was harmless and just lost?

As the figure got closer, Sokka was able to get a better look at them. Their clothes were worn and dark, as if they weren’t trying to bring any attention to themselves. Sokka looked even closer at the torch only to realize that the person wasn’t holding anything in fact, but instead was _fire-bending_ the light themselves. 

“Who are you?” Sokka called out, eyes narrowing as his grip on boomerang tightened. The figure raised their hands in response, as if to say ‘I’m on your side’. 

“Hello,” they said, and Sokka recognized that voice. It was the same voice that he had heard in the southern water tribe and from inside the building on Kyoshi island. “I’m Zuko.”

Before Sokka could even react, his sister was shouting. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Sokka wanted to tell her to be quiet, to let him explain himself, but her shouting had rattled the other man. He watched as Zuko’s somewhat confident disposition shifted to one of pure nerves.

“I, uh, happened to be in the area and know that Aang needs a fire-bending teacher,” he said, honesty dripping through his voice. “I want to help you all, and take down my father.”

Sokka was about to speak before Katara shouted again. “Get lost!”

Zuko’s gaze fell, and without making eye contact with anyone else turned and left from the clearing. Sokka wasn’t sure what Zuko was expecting to get from this conversation, but he could tell this wasn’t the outcome he wanted. As soon as his figure was out of view, Sokka turned to his sister.

“Why did you scream at him?”

She shot him another one of _those_ looks. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe ‘cause he’s the son of the fire lord? Oh, and not to mention the fact that he’s tried to _kill_ us before!”

“I think we should trust him,” said Aang. His gaze hadn’t moved from the spot where Zuko had been standing moments before.

 _Blindly trusting someone that was related to the fire lord, not to mention someone that they just met?_ Sokka wondered, shooting him a look. _Was that also an avatar thing?_

“I’m serious,” said Aang, turning to look at Katara now. “I need a fire-bending teacher, after all.”

Katara huffed, and Sokka could tell that an argument was about to start any second now.

“How about this,” he said, drawing the attention away from Aang. “I go after him right now and question him a little bit. He can’t be too far away from us right now anyway.”

Before Katara could object, Aang nodded his head in agreement. That was all the confirmation that Sokka needed before taking off from the clearing, praying that Zuko hadn’t gotten too far away.

It wasn’t until he was deeper into the woods that he realized just how dark it was. The moonlight shown down in faint patches, the rest preoccupied with illuminated the treetops of the forest. If he wasn’t worried about finding Zuko, he would have noticed that the forest was quite beautiful at night.

But Sokka had more pressing concerns, and those included finding Zuko before he could run off for good. He might have thought that all hope was lost until he heard a rustling coming from a clearing nearby. He could just make out the shape of a lone figure standing near a tent. 

_That has to be Zuko, it must be_ , thought Sokka as he entered the clearing. _Well, here goes nothing._

Sokka cleared his throat, and Zuko turned around in surprise. For the prince of the fire nation, he wasn’t exactly very observant of his surroundings. Though it was dark, Sokka could still see the dark circles that hooked under his eyes and the scar that covered the left side of his face. 

The scar was red and old; a wound that had clearly healed over the years. Sokka wondered when, and how, the fire nation prince had gotten that particular scar. He had heard the rumors about how the prince was banished, how his sister was the rightful heir to the throne. Maybe she had caused him to get that scar?

“Hey,” Sokka finally said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t bring my crazy sister with me.”

At that statement, Zuko laughed, though it was so short and quiet that if the forest wasn’t asleep Sokka probably wouldn’t have even heard it. 

“If you think your sister’s crazy then you definitely don’t want to meet mine.”

Sokka felt himself laughing, and the sound surprised himself. It echoed around the space between them, calming the remaining nerves that Sokka had. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“So, how’d you find us?”

Zuko smiled sheepishly and turned away from Sokka. “I mean, have been tracking you guys for the past like, year, so it wasn’t _that_ hard. And I’ve been here before, actually.”

Sokka cocked one of his eyebrows. “Really?” He asked, surprised that other people were able to make their way to the well-hidden western air temple.

Zuko nodded, making eye contact with Sokka. “Yeah, when I was first banished and sent to find the avatar a couple years ago, the air temples were the first places that I checked.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “It made sense at the time to, you know, go back to the source. I never thought he would be hiding in the south pole.”

Sokka walked over towards his makeshift tent. “Did you say you’ve been looking for the avatar for years?”

Zuko nodded wordlessly, mindlessly playing with his hair. Sokka watched as he ran his fingers through his black bangs and had the sudden urge to do the same. As quickly as he could, he shook the thoughts from his head.

“Do you mind if I ask something?” Sokka asked apprehensively, watching Zuko’s face flicker with confusion. The other man hesitated for a second, and Sokka could tell he was wondering what was about to be said. He nodded anyway, his piercing gaze staring right at Sokka.

Sokka gulped. Zuko could give Katara a run for her money with that one.

“Why were you banished?”

He saw Zuko grimace and immediately regretted asking, but it was too late now; the words floated in the space between them, sharp as daggers. Instead of protesting, he watched as the other man sat down, almost as though he was defeated, tired even. Zuko looked over at him, shooting him a look that said ‘don’t just stand there’ and Sokka took that as his queue to join him on the ground.

The dirt was cold beneath his legs and Sokka briefly thought about how Toph’s feet must be cold all the time then. He made a mental note to ask her about that in the morning. 

Zuko was still quiet, as if he was contemplating where to begin.

“You don’t have to tell me why,” Sokka said, voice low. There was no sense in scaring away the only fire-bending teacher Aang was going to get just because Sokka was curious and couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“No, it’s fine. I would have to tell you all at some point if I was to teach Aang fire-bending, anyway,” Zuko said, relaxing ever so slightly. Their knees were mere inches apart, and Sokka could see the scars that covered the other man’s legs. It made him wonder just how people were treated in the fire nation.

Zuko let out a deep breath and Sokka watched as his hand found his way to his face, covering the scar that seemed to mark him as the banished prince. 

“Throughout my childhood, my sister was always the favorite. Everything I could do, she could do better. She was faster, smarter, tougher; pretty much everything my father could have ever wanted in a child. He was mad that I was the heir to the crown, and not Azula. But sometimes he would let me sit in on some of the meetings that he would hold with the other generals, and I was always so excited to go because I felt, well, wanted.

One day, during a meeting, I spoke up. It was out of line, you see, but not really. All I tried to say was I thought it was a better idea to do something different, but my father took that as a personal attack against himself. He challenged me then to an agni kai, for my honor,” Zuko said, not looking at Sokka.

“An agni kai? What’s that?” Asked Sokka, not wanting to pry but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

“It’s a fire bender’s form of a duel,” said Zuko. Sokka could see lines of frustration growing on his forehead. “But I didn’t want to fight my father, I just wanted him to not be mad at me anymore. So I refused to fight him with my fire-bending. He said I had no honor since I wouldn’t fight him, and he burnt my face even though I wasn’t fighting back.”

Sokka gasped, not even trying to hide the shock that he was feeling. Zuko looked at him, confused, before Sokka practically shouted “I knew that!”

“How could you possibly have known that?”

Sokka felt his eyes widening as his gaze fully landed on Zuko, and it was like he was _really_ seeing him for the first time. He was the boy in his dreams, he was the child of the father who got engulfed by the flames. 

“I, okay, this is going to sound _really weird_ ,” Sokka said, the words spilling out of him. “I dreamt that. Of you and the fire and the fight with your dad.”

Zuko looked alarmed, and Sokka didn’t blame him. 

“I know it sounds crazy but I didn’t know that it was you,” he continued, remembering how the figures in his dream had no faces, clothed in darkness and flames. “But your father, the man in my dream, said something about your sister and it sounds just like what you told me now.”

A thousand different things were running through Sokka’s mind. Why did he dream about Zuko? What are the odds that what happened in his dream actually happened in real life? And most of all, why him?

Zuko let out a deep breath that Sokka didn’t know he was holding. 

“I don’t know why you dreamt that,” he began, turning to face Sokka once again. “But I do know that it’s true. _All of it_.”

By the end of his sentence, Zuko’s voice was no louder than a whisper. Wordlessly, Sokka reached out, though he didn’t really know why. Something in his gut was just telling him he needed to. So, for once in his life, Sokka just listened.

He placed a tentative hand on the other man’s knee, careful not to press down too hard before reeling his hand back in pain. Zuko winced at the same time as him, clutching the part of his chest over his heart. The burning was back, and this time Sokka felt his jaw drop even before his eyes had a chance to see what was happening. 

And then, his marking started to glow, bright and yellow and warm against the darkness of the forest. Sokka couldn't help but stare at the swords, watching them glow and _burn_ against his tan skin. He could feel Zuko’s eyes on him, so he hesitantly lifted his gaze up to the other man.

Zuko’s chest was glowing. The pale hand that was stretched around the fabric of his shirt was clenched tight, but it didn’t stop the light from seeping through. Sokka didn’t know what to think, what to feel as he stared back at the other boy. His heart was beating so fast that he thought it was going to burst out of his chest. 

“Zuko,” was all Sokka could whisper, watching the other boy’s every move. He watched as Zuko looked down at his own chest, before moving his gaze to Sokka’s forearm. He watched as he slowly moved his hand from his own chest to Sokka’s arm, as if asking to touch him. Sokka simply pushed his arm towards the other boy, letting his fingers brush gently across his skin.

Zuko’s touch alone sent chills down his spine. Sokak found himself reaching his other hand up to Zuko’s chest, hand shaking as he gripped the cloth of his shirt. 

“Can I?” Sokka asked, though he wasn’t sure if the words even left his mouth. Zuko nodded anyway, as if understanding what he wanted to do without needing words anyway. Maybe that’s why Katara and Aang never really talked when they were together. Maybe they just _knew_ what the other was thinking. Was that a soulmate thing?

Sokka moved his shirt, revealing Zuko’s pale chest. Right over his heart was his mark, the same two swords that Sokka had stared at his entire life, constantly wondering who they matched with. It was a strange, but not unwelcome feeling, that came with seeing his own mark on someone else’s body.

He stared at Zuko’s chest, well aware that his hand was still laying on his chest, as he watched the glow from his marking grow fainter and fainter until it was fully gone. He was also highly aware of how quiet the forest had become around them, as if nature itself was watching the pair. Zuko’s breathing was rapid and loud, and Sokka was sure his own sounded the same.

“Well,” he said, voice rough, as Zuko finally pulled away from him. “Now what?”

Zuko laughed faintly, and it was a sound that Sokka knew he was never going to get tired of. “Go to sleep, probably,” said Zuko, his gaze finally moving from Sokka to the sky above them.

Sokka wasn’t aware how fast time had gone. One minute the sun had just set under the horizon and the next thing he knew it was a quarter past midnight and he couldn’t stop staring at how _his soulmate_ looked underneath the moonlight that slipped through the forest leaves.

“Yeah,” said Sokka, moving to stand up. “You're going to need all the sleep you can get if you’re going to be teaching the avatar firebending. I swear trying to train with Aang is like herding owl-cats.”

Zuko smiled at him. “How do you know your sister will let me?”

“Don’t worry about it, Zuko,” Sokka said, shrugging, and realized that he enjoyed the way that Zuko’s name rolled off his tongue too much for his own good. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

The other boy nodded, then looked as if he was going to say something more. Instead, Sokka watched as his hand returned to its place on his chest, as if it fit there like a glove. 

“Goodnight Sokka.”

Sokka grinned. He liked the way that Zuko said his own name, too.

“‘Night, Zuko.”

-

The way that Zuko seemed to get along with their group was surprising to Sokka, because although they were soulmates there was still the slight issue that Zuko had been actively hunting them down for the past year. At least, it was an issue for Katara.

Toph had no problems with him, but granted she just seemed to enjoy making fun of him so Sokka wasn’t actually sure what she thought of the fire bender. As for Aang, he seemed relieved that he had found a fire-bending teacher that was willing to put up with his antics, though Sokka could tell that Zuko’s patience was beginning to run thin.

When he thought about Zuko, about his soulmate, he still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him

He was infuriatingly handsome, which Sokka _refused_ to admit to himself, and surprisingly bad with words, yet still managed to talk to Sokka in a way that _just made sense_ . It was as if something had shifted inside Sokka, like the universe was telling him to open up because his other half was _right there_. 

Truthfully, Sokka still didn’t believe it. He believed that his eyes were playing tricks on him that night, when both their marks lit up in harmony and he felt like he was never going to breath ever again. There was no way in spirits that he actually found his soulmate.

He hadn’t told any of the others what had happened that night, though. He knew that it was important for Zuko to earn Katara’s trust by himself, regardless of if he was Sokka’s soulmate or not. That didn’t make it any easier when he returned back to the temple that night, the words “Zuko’s my _fucking soulmate_ ” threatening to spill from his lips at a moments notice.

But he hadn’t said a word. Not for weeks, as he pretended that his skin didn't tingle every time he accidentally brushed Zuko’s arms while training, or when he felt a blush creep up onto his cheeks every time Zuko would give Aang a little half-smile when he did a fire-bending move correctly.

In fact, he was very fine keeping it inside, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary had happened until Zuko and Aang decided to find the fire-bending dragons.

 _The_ dragons that invented fire-bending.

The very same dragons that had supposedly been extinct for decades.

Regardless, Aang was persistent that they needed to go find the masters so that he could begin to make some real progress in his fire-bending lessons, and the glint that was in Zuko’s eyes made Sokka realize that he was just as excited to find them as the avatar was.

As soon as they left, Sokka was unsure of what to do. It was apparent that Toph and Katara had the same thought as him, since they were all just sitting around their makeshift campsite staring at each other, as if one of them was going to come out and finally do something exciting.

Mostly, the excitement came from Aang; the training, the flying bison, the general avatar-ness that just made him fun to be around. He wasn’t even gone for a day and yet they had all just completely run out of things to do. It was pathetic, really, but then again they were all here to help the avatar. 

Who do you help when the person you’re supposed to be helping isn’t around to be helped?

 _Well, this might be a good time to mention the soulmate thing_ , Sokka thought to himself, watching Toph fling pebbles at Katara waiting for her to notice. 

“Hey guys,” Sokka said after Katara had finally noticed the pebbles that were being pelted at her. She shot Toph a glare before looking over at him.

“Yeah, Sokka?”

_Well, here goes nothing._

“So, I have to tell you guys something important.” Toph raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed as Katara simply nodded her head, encouraging him to continue. “It’s about my soulmate.”

“Oh, Zuko?” Said Katara after a moment, a smirk written on her lips.

Sokka’s jaw dropped. He looked at Katara, then over to Toph, then back to his sister. “How did you know?”

Both girls laughed, and Sokka just threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Oh come on! I thought this was going to be some dramatic conversation where one of you storms out because I’m seducing the enemy!”

This statement only caused the two to laugh harder, Katara holding the sides of her stomach as Toph was wiping tears away from under her eyes. 

“Sokka,” said Katara, laughing still etched in her voice. “You really think we let you follow the prince of the fire nation into the woods at night, without a weapon, _alone_?”

Sokka just put his face in his hands, embarrassment written all over his face.

-

Sokka was about to do something very, _very_ stupid.

Though he was no stranger to doing dumb things, if what he was about to do worked, it would most definitely top the list of the ‘dumbest things that Sokka has ever done’. If not, he was most definitely _fucked_ , to say the least.

Was breaking into a high-security fire nation prison for the slim chance that he could rescue his dad that might not even be there way too risky? Probably, but Sokka was never one for odds and thought if there was something that he could do about it he might as well _try_. So that’s how Sokka wound up packing a day’s worth of supplies, his map, and boomerang on top of Appa in the middle of the night. His plan had been echoing around his head all day, clouding his vision to the point where he lost every single sparring match with Zuko. 

(Though Sokka could usually hold his own, his mind couldn’t help but wander elsewhere. Part of him wondered if Zuko had noticed, but then again this was also the boy that hadn’t noticed he was wearing his pants on backwards.)

It wasn’t until he was climbing on top of Appa that he heard footsteps. Whirling around, he saw none other than Zuko himself staring up at him, arms crossed and eyes droopy from sleep. Sokka couldn’t help but think how cute he looked, until he realized he was probably going to question everything that Sokka was about to do.

“Uh, hi?” He watched Zuko roll his eyes.

“Sokka, what are you doing?”

Sokka scratched the back of his head. “Oh, you know, just the usual. Nothing to see here.”

“Mhm,” was all Zuko said, but Sokka watched as he climbed on top of Appa to join him. “So do you usually plan prison break-ins at night or is this just a one-time thing?”

“How’d _you_ know?” Sokka asked. He was almost positive he hadn’t mentioned anything to any of the others, especially not Zuko or Katara.

“Intuition,” Zuko said back. Sokka noticed how their knees were touching and how he had the sudden urge to drop everything he was about to do and hug him. “Also, you kept muttering something about prisons and gear today while we were practicing. And then I heard you ask Katara something about your father, so then I kind of put the pieces together from there.”

Sokka didn’t know whether to be impressed or frustrated, but he was mostly in shock over the fact that Zuko had gone out of his way to see what Sokka was doing and if he was okay.

“And,” continued Zuko, breaking Sokka’s eye contact. Sokka could see the blush rising on his neck, and Sokka stopped himself from reaching out and putting his hand there. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to do anything stupid without me.”

Sokka smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Zuko smiled back at him, and _oh_ _spirits_ was it one that Sokka wished he could see forever. It was real and genuine and made him melt, just a little bit.

“I’m not kidding,” said Zuko, an air of seriousness entering his voice. “If you want to go bust your dad out of prison, I’ll go with you. Plus, did you really think you could just leave a flying bison at the prison? It’s not like they have a daycare for them or something.”

Sokka punched him in the arm for that one, earning a shit-eating grin from the other boy. And then, Sokka leaned in closer and kissed his cheek. Zuko’s skin was hot, both from the blush that had spread over his cheeks and from the fire coursing through his veins. 

“Fine, you can come,” said Sokka. “Only ‘cause you’re cute.”

Zuko’s face got impossibly redder, and Sokka grinned. He didn’t know having a soulmate would be this much fun.

“Come on, let’s go back to bed,” said Zuko, climbing off Appa. The bison grunted in appreciation as Sokka followed suit. “Also, we’re taking the war balloon tomorrow. I was serious when I said they don’t have bison daycare.”

-

Truthfully, Sokka couldn’t believe that the others bought into their fishing-trip lie. They had plenty of food, at least enough to last them through the end of the week, but they hadn’t questioned it when Sokka said they were taking Zuko’s war balloon and would be back in a couple days. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of them never coming back. That idea made his stomach flip, and he worked hard to push it out of his mind as they took off.

The two had fallen into a comfortable silence, Zuko pumping fire into the engine every so often, and Sokka pretending to check the map but failing to read it every time. It was surprisingly relaxing, despite knowing full well that it was only a mask covering what was about to happen. 

“Hey Sokka,” Zuko said, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

He watched as Zuko turned towards him, hands fiddling in his lap. The movement was unnatural for the firebender, as he usually always appeared to be composed and unaffected. 

“I had a girlfriend, once,” said Zuko, his voice barely audible over the wing that howled around the balloon.

Though he didn’t know her at all, Sokka felt a prick of jealousy in his gut. _You can’t be jealous of someone you never even met_ , he thought to himself. Zuko cleared his throat, and Sokka realized that he hadn’t actually replied to what Zuko said. 

“Uh, was she nice?” asked Sokka, though he honestly didn’t want Zuko to compare the two of them. Zuko was the fucking son of the fire lord, of course his ex-girlfriend would be nice.

“Actually, not really,” Zuko said, rubbing a hand sheepishly over the back of his neck. “She was actually pretty gloomy, but my dad approved of her so I went along with it.”

Sokka nodded, trying not to picture Zuko and his ex-girlfriend. The thought of it kind of made him want to throw up over the side of the fire nation war balloon.

Zuko looked away, casting his gaze over the side of the balloon. Sokka took a moment to stare blatantly at Zuko’s profile. His jaw was sharp and his broad shoulders were well-defined. Even the scar that covered his left eye somehow made him more attractive.

Sokka was _fucked_.

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.” He said after a moment, breaking the heavy silence as Zuko pumped more fire into the engine. Zuko glanced over at him as an unreadable expression flitted across his face. 

“That’s rough, buddy.”

Sokka laughed, the sound bubbling up from inside him without warning. “Did you really just call me _buddy_?”

Zuko shot him a sheepish look. “Maybe I did,” Zuko said, though it was more of a question than a statement.

“You’re my soulmate! You can’t friend-zone me! That's not how it works,” Sokka grumbled, but couldn't find it in himself to be mad. The priceless look written on Zuko’s face was well worth the nickname. 

“We’re almost there, by the way,” said Zuko, turning fully around to stare off the front of the war balloon. “You remember the plan, right?”

Of course Sokka remembered the plan. He couldn’t stop replaying what was about to happen over and over again in his mind. They were going to land on the shore and push the war balloon into the boiling water, effectively hiding their presence but also removing any means of their escape. 

Was it worth the risk? Was anything worth bringing the banished prince and the avatar’s right hand man directly into the heart of one of the most inescapable fire nation prisons? Sokka thought of his dad, and countless others that were imprisoned unjustly, and decided that it was.

Then, once they were inside, they were going to steal guard uniforms and attempt to blend right in. It sounded easy enough, but Sokka had a growing feeling that nothing was going to go as planned.

“There it is,” said Zuko, his voice carried over to Sokka through the smoke like a whisper. Sokka stood up and joined him at his side. It was now or never. He felt something warm slip into his palm, and blushed as soon as he realized it was Zuko’s hand. He gave it a tentative squeeze back, and could see that out of the corner of his eyes that Zuko was smiling.

It was a smile that Sokka didn’t know he had been missing.

The next ten minutes that followed were a blur of action, as the war balloon descended quickly into the lake. The two of them just barely managed to jump out in time to miss getting burned by the boiling water that now surrounded them. Sokka gulped. There was no turning back now.

Zuko had pulled him against the rocks that held up the prison that loomed over them, casting its shadow over the rocky sand that shifted underneath Sokka’s feet. Pressed against the cool stone, Sokka watched the light from the guard’s tower shine over the horizon, scanning around the island for any disturbances. Since he didn’t hear any alarm bells, Sokka took that as a sign that they had been undetected.

He hadn’t realized that Zuko’s arm was outstretched over his chest, effectively keeping Sokka pressed against the rocks between Zuko and the guard’s tower. He hadn’t realized just how protective that was until footsteps echoed out above them and Zuko practically tackled him into the corner. 

Bodies pressed against each other, they sat in silence listening to the _clack_ , _clack_ of the guard’s shoes until the sound faded away into nothing. As soon as he was sure the guard had left, Sokka let out a breath that he wasn’t aware he had been holding in. But Zuko still hadn’t moved away from him, his body still pressed against Sokka, protective and strong. Their faces were almost touching, and Sokka could feel Zuko’s breath against his cheek.

It was warm and calming, but not enough for him to ignore the cold stone that was pressed against the rest of his body, keeping him well aware just _how dangerous_ the situation they were in actually was. 

“Zuko,” he whispered, making eye contact with the other boy. Zuko’s eyes were locked on his, and Sokka could see emotions that he couldn’t quite place swirling around in them. It was distracting, really, just how much Sokka wanted to drop everything and stay right where they were. Deep down he knew that was practically a death wish, but feeling Zuko’s body pressed against him, it made him think it was almost worth it.

“You ready?” He said after a moment more, feeling Zuko’s breath rise and fall on his cheek.

And then, Zuko _kissed_ him. It was short and rough and _hot_ , as if the fire within him was dancing on his lips as they kissed. Everything about Zuko was intense; the way he trained, the way he carried himself, all the way down to the way he kissed. If Sokka was thinking at all, he would have tried to memorize the feeling that came with his touch. There was passion written in his lips, passion that burned as bright as the fire that smoldered within him.

Zuko pulled away, and the fire had spread from his lips to his cheeks, coating them in a faint blush that Sokka never wanted to go away.

“Yeah,” said Zuko, voice rough. 

(Sokka wanted to hear that sound forever.)

It took all of Sokka’s willpower not to pull him in and kiss him again, to block out the rest of the world and only focus on _Zuko_. But the bell from the guard’s tower brought him back to reality.

_Kissing Zuko would have to wait._

-

It wasn’t as though Sokka was expecting things to go according to plan, per se, but he certainly wasn’t expecting them to go to _shit_ as fast as they had.

In the matter of a few days, he had found Suki and his father, but at the price of Zuko being discovered. The feeling that made its way into Sokka’s stomach as he watched Zuko get dragged away hadn’t managed to leave, the anger and _fear_ becoming a constant companion as the days progressed onward.

When the lineup happened, as his guard helmet was ripped off of him and he was forced to stand in line with the others, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. Zuko was _right there_ in front of him, yet he was unable to do anything except stare as the other boy was forced to pick out his accomplice. When the man beside Sokka was selected, he couldn’t even bring himself to breathe a sigh of relief, too nervous for what they were going to do to Zuko if they found out he had lied.

(He thought back to every time Zuko had been thrown into that _freezer,_ and his blood began to boil with rage.)

But, despite everything that had gone wrong, they had a plan. It was a dumb, ridiculously stupid plan that would probably wind up getting them all killed, but it was a plan nonetheless. And that plan was going to start with none other than a _riot_.

As it turned out, a riot was a much easier thing to start than Sokka had expected. (Though, in hindsight, a bunch of angry fire nation war prisoners looking for any excuse to use their bending would have probably started a riot sooner rather than later.)

The prison yard had dissolved into chaos, but all Sokka could focus on was the fact that people he cared about most were by his side again. He felt Zuko’s presence next to him, just as strong and powerful as Hakoda’s in front of him and Suki’s behind him. If anyone could break out of the best fire nation prison in the world, it was going to be them.

It was no short of a miracle, Sokka had decided, that they had all managed to make it onto the gondola in one piece. Warden in hand, he felt the gondola slowly begin to move towards their path to freedom. He could feel the steam from the boiling water below them as he paced around the car, wishing with every fiber in his being for it to _move faster_.

“Guys,” he heard Suki say, concern written in her voice as she pointed towards the prison in the distance. “Who is that?”

“Who is--” Sokka began to ask, only to be cut off by Zuko practically shouting “Azula!”

Before he could realize what was happening, Zuko had climbed onto the roof of the gondola, Suki not following far behind. Sokka cursed under his breath, watching Suki’s feet disappear above the roof. 

Hakoda looked over at Sokka, raising an eyebrow. “I assume things are about to get interesting?”

Sokka laughed, swinging his legs over the side of the gondola. “As if things haven’t gotten interesting already.”

Sokka pulled himself onto the top of the gondola, seeing Suki and Zuko standing, staring, _waiting_ for Azula to reach them. It was in that moment when Sokka realized that Azula wasn’t alone. Her friend, Ty lee, was also racing up the gondola wires towards them. He thought back to the last time he had fought her, and how his arms were numb _for days_ afterwards. 

He shuddered, the thought of losing control of his limbs and potentially falling into the pool of boiling water beneath him made him nervous, but he pushed the feeling down when he saw Zuko glance towards him. They locked eyes for a split second, and Sokka hoped that he didn’t see the fear that was probably clouding his vision.

“ _Brother_ ,” was all he heard Azula sneer before springing into action, instinctively placing himself in front of Suki and Zuko. He was sure that both of them gave him _that look_ , but he couldn’t help himself. There was no way he was letting her hurt either of them ever again. His movement was futile, though, as Ty Lee jumped around him towards Suki. But this time, he let her go; he knew Suki could handle herself.

But Azula was different; she was unhinged, unpredictable, unforgiving. He pulled his sword from his belt and felt Zuko heat up beside him, the fire inside him growing with every passing moment. She laughed, the sound cold and foreign as she took a step towards them. Without waiting, Sokka swung, forcing her to react and jump backwards. He felt Zuko move around him, the fire shooting out from his hands towards his sister. 

He could hear Suki shouting, the warden groaning, his dad yelling, but he had to force himself to focus, using everything he had to _take her down_.

Her fire was blue and cold, so different from the warm reds and yellows of Zuko’s that Sokka had gotten so used to. Fire was dangerous and destructive, and Sokka knew that, but it could also be warm and protective. Seeing Azula’s flames, the way she forced them to attack for one goal and one goal only: to hurt the people that got in her way, made Sokka’s heart hurt. 

A line of blue was shot towards Sokka and he felt himself staggering backwards. At that moment, it was as if everything was happening in slow motion. He saw the flames, licking against the edges of his clothes as he felt his feet slipping out from underneath them. Dropping his sword, he desperately reached out to grab the edge of the gondola but his fingers skimmed the edge, as if to taunt him with his safety. 

But then he felt a hand reach out and grab his, strong and solid as they pulled him upwards. 

_Zuko_ , Sokka thought as his feet touched the top of the gondola. Zuko hadn’t let go of his hand, even though Sokka was standing on the roof alongside him, and Sokka could feel the other boy’s hand trembling in his grasp. 

But Zuko wasn’t looking at him, he was too busy staring at Azula and Ty Lee as they rode the passing gondola back towards the prison. He could see the flames flickering at Zuko’s finger tips, softly warming the hand that Sokka was still holding. Suki had come to stand next to them, and the three of them just stood there silently, praying that the gondola would start moving again. 

Zuko turned towards them, finally removing his hand from Sokka’s grasp. Sokka didn’t want him to let go, as it felt as though Zuko was his only lifeline to the real world. 

(Which honestly, he was. Sokka didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t caught him in time.)

He hadn’t noticed that Zuko’s shirt was completely burned, exposing his chest and his _marking_ to the world. It was still surreal, Sokka noted, that his marking was covering another person’s chest. He watched as Suki looked over at Zuko’s chest, eyes widening at the mark before looking over at Sokka.

“So _that’s_ why you guys were so in sync,” she said after a moment, flashing Sokka a good-natured smile. Sokka could feel himself blushing, and Zuko was no better as the skin on his chest had become completely red. 

“I’m just glad that Ty Lee didn’t knock either of you out,” Zuko said, looking over at Sokka in particular. He heard Suki laugh loudly, before climbing back into the car of the gondola leaving Sokka and Zuko alone on the roof.

Sokka closed the space between them, grabbing Zuko’s hands in his own. He could feel the callouses on the other boy’s palms from the years of firebending, and thought about how lucky he was that those very same hands were the ones that saved him from falling. He could feel Zuko’s breath on his face again, noses touching as Sokka locked eyes with him.

“Thank you,” Sokka mumbled against his lips before letting himself lean fully into Zuko. He could feel Zuko’s heartbeat against his chest as he pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around the other boy’s neck. He felt Zuko try to mumble something back, but it was lost as Sokka slipped his tongue into his mouth. 

The gondola lurched and he heard Zuko let out a gasp as it began to move forward at the same slow and steady pace that was before. Sokka pulled away, pausing for a second to take in Zuko. Zuko smiled at him softly before pulling him into a hug once more, whispers of “you’re welcome” and “don’t do that again” murmured into Sokka’s shoulder. 

-

Zuko was standing at the helm of the stolen fire nation warship, looking out over the ocean as Sokka entered the room. All was quiet on the stolen ship, but Sokka couldn’t help but still feel on edge, as if Azula and her soldiers were going to attack them at a moment’s notice. He knew that was impossible, seeing as they had stolen their one way off of the boiling rock, but the thought of her alone still made him nervous and angry at the same time. 

“Hey,” called out Zuko, glancing over his shoulder at him. “Are you just going to stand there or what?”

Sokka scoffed playfully. “Maybe?”

Zuko laughed and turned back to the helm, as if he knew that Sokka was going to walk over towards him anyway. 

(How could Sokka not, honestly, when his soulmate was _right there_. When Zuko was nearby, five feet apart felt like fifty miles.)

“Hey there,” Zuko said, bumping into his shoulder as he stood next to him. Sokka mumbled a small “hey” back before leaning his head on Zuko’s shoulder, letting himself relax for the first time in days. He could hear Zuko sigh as the other boy moved so that their hands were intertwined. It was such a simple gesture, but it made Sokka’s heart flutter every time he did it.

“Thanks for, you know, coming with me,” Sokka said softly, letting his eyes wander lazily over the horizon. He felt Zuko nod against his neck, as if to say “of course” or “I know you would have done the same for me”.

And Sokka would have. He would follow Zuko to the end of the world if that’s what it took. Despite everything, despite the fear and nerves and uncertainty, Sokka felt _invincible_.

 _Is this what Aang and Katara felt like this whole time?_ He wondered, allowing himself to embrace the feeling of Zuko’s warm body against his own. _No wonder why Aang’s always so positive about everything. Well, that still might be an avatar thing._

“Seriously,” Sokka heard himself saying. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do any of this.”

Zuko turned to face him fully, resting his hands on Sokka’s cheeks. “I know I didn’t _have_ to do any of this, I did it because I _wanted_ to. I know how much your dad means to you,” he said, trailing off as he planted a soft kiss on Sokka’s forehead. That was the thing Sokka had discovered about Zuko’s kisses; they were always gentle and warm and careful. 

Every part of the fire bender was constantly burning; the fire inside his soul had become such a part of him that it was impossible to have one without the other. The fire came in waves, sometimes it was a wall and other times it was a whisper, but it never left. It was always dancing on his fingertips or crawling down his arms or pounding in his heart. But when he kissed Sokka, it was like the fire inside him had turned into steam, as though Sokka was ice and if Zuko kissed him too hard he was going to melt.

Sokka watched Zuko’s eyes, soft and gentle as he pulled away, hands still gently resting against his cheeks. Sokka pulled him back down, accidentally bumping their noses in an attempt to press his lips back against Zuko’s. He kissed him hard, mouth open and hot as if to say _I’m not going anywhere_. Zuko kissed back with just as much fever, one of his hands moving to wrap around Sokka’s waist while the other and nestled itself around Sokka’s neck.

Sokka sighed out a mixture of relief and happiness. He could practically feel his soul smiling, aching, reaching out for Zuko’s in a way that he didn’t think was possible. Maybe the spirits were right about soulmates, after all.

-

Sokka wasn’t ready to admit the fact that the end of the world was coming.

With every passing day, Sozin’s Comet was getting closer and closer, leaving little time for them to fully prepare to take down the fire nation. Aang was practicing day and night, and although his fire-bending was progressing nicely, Sokka was still worried that it wouldn’t be good enough against the Fire Lord. 

His dreams at night were filled with fire and flames and _fear_. Sokka had lost count of the amount of times that he had woken up in a cold sweat, only to find everyone else still peacefully sleeping around him. It was during those nights, when it seemed like the moon would dance in the sky forever, that Sokka moved himself ever so slightly closer to Zuko.

The other’s body was warm and inviting even in sleep, and Sokka allowed himself to stare blatantly at his face. His expression was calm and soft, eyes closed and mouth open ever so slightly. He felt the fire bender shift next to him, without waking, as though he could feel Sokka’s presence even in his deep sleep. He felt the other boy’s arm reach out and wrap around his waist, warm and secure against Sokka’s body.

As he slipped back into unconsciousness, he felt Zuko’s grip on his waist tighten ever so slightly, as if to say _I’m still here, I always will be_.

-

And so the days progressed, but the nightmares didn’t slow. 

He knew that the comet was coming, that the avatar was preparing, that the end of the world was knocking on their doorstep.

But he was never able to extinguish the fire that plagued his mind at night; blue flames never failing to overpower the red. No matter how many times he woke up telling himself that it was _just a dream_ , while his heart pounded and mind spun, he couldn’t help but worry if it really was just a dream.

He looked over at Zuko who was sleeping peacefully and thought to himself, _maybe I dreamt you, too?_

-

_Whenever Sokka thought of home, he used to think of the south pole._

_He used to think of the southern water tribe, of the people who raised him, of Gran Gran and Hakoda and Kya, of the harsh unforgiving landscape that had learned to call home. He used to think of playing with Katara in the fresh early morning snow and of hunting with the older warriors of the tribe._

_But now, he thinks of something different. He thinks about his new home, the one he found along the way._

_He thinks of Aang; the boy in the iceberg, the avatar who had returned to save the world, the little brother he never had but always wanted. He thinks of Toph; the blind bandit, the most powerful earth bender, the best friend he could have ever asked for. He thinks of Katara; the master water bender, the woman who despite all the odds wrote her own destiny, the little sister he would always be proud of. He thinks of Zuko, His Zuko; the prince of the fire nation, the banished son, the other half of Sokka’s soul._

_He thinks most of all about how home has become synonymous with these people, will all these places that they’ve been too and all the adventures that they’ve been on._

_And that through can’t help but make Sokka smile._

-

The day before the end of the world arrived quietly, like the calm before the storm.

Sitting around the clearing where the White Lotus had created their camp, Sokka allowed himself to take it all in. Members of the white lotus walked around, talking amongst themselves while cleaning up their tents. He could see Toph and Iroh, probably talking about Ba Sing Se and how the white lotus were going to try and take it back from the fire nation. It was funny how the world had a way of working those things out; General Iroh taking back from the fire nation what he tried so hard to conquer on their behalf for so many years.

Sokka couldn’t help but smile over the fact that they were on their side. Maybe they could do this after all.

He then looked over at Katara, Aang, and Suki who were sitting next to him. Aang was going to have to do the unspeakable tomorrow, when Sozin’s comet was finally making it’s arrival. Truthfully, Sokka didn’t know if Aang had it in him to kill the fire lord. For the sake of the world, Sokka hoped that he did.

He thought for a second about the plan again, about how Katara and Zuko were leaving shortly to go after Azula in the fire nation capital. Sokka didn’t want to admit it, but he was terrified _for_ them. He knew that Azula was beatable, that both Katara and Zuko were skilled benders that could take her down. He wasn’t afraid of them winning, he was afraid of them getting hurt.

His sister and _his_ soulmate, going off to fight his soulmate’s batshit crazy, fire-bending, lighting-striking, younger sister. It was a recipe for disaster, but he knew there was nothing else they could do. Sokka knew his role in the plan, and they knew theirs. 

He had to go with Suki and Toph to take down the fleet of fire nation ships or else who knows how many people would die at the hands of Ozai and his army of fire-bending soldiers. He had to go, Katara and Zuko would be fine.

He _hoped_.

He saw Zuko exit one of the remaining tents, and Sokka stood up, excusing himself from the others before walking towards him. Zuko saw him coming and flashed a small smile, one that was so faint that if Sokka was anyone else he wouldn have missed it.

The world seemed to get quieter as he got closer to Zuko; the sounds of the world around them growing fainter and fainter until it was just the two of them, standing under the setting sun on the eve of the end of the world. 

“Hi,” breathed Sokka, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Zuko smirked, and Sokka felt the nerves that had been growing in his stomach all day dissipate as though they were never there to begin with. Being around Zuko was like playing with fire, and Sokka was destined to fly straight into the flames. Zuko burned so bright, so fierce, and Sokka was just lucky to be able to bask in his warmth. 

“Hey there,” Zuko said back, eyes smiling despite the daunting situation that lay before him. At that moment, Sokka wanted to tell him not to go, to stay with Sokka and Suki and the others, so that they could all be together when the comet came. But he knew how naive that would be, how foolish to think that they deserve to stand by each other's sides as the world was going to come crashing down.

It was as if Zuko knew what Sokka was thinking, for he reached out and gently grabbed Sokka’s hand. He could see the blush rising on Zuko’s cheeks, which made Sokka grin. 

_Was that a soulmate thing?_ Sokka wondered, squeezing his hand ever so slightly. If Sokka could add making the prince of the fire nation blush to his list of accomplishments, that would go right under being taught by a master swordsman.

But the prince of the fire nation, the avatar’s fire-bending teacher, the man that would one day rightfully claim his place as Fire Lord of the fire nation, was more than capable of handling himself, and Sokka knew that. Especially if he was going to have Katara by his side.

Zuko said something, and Sokka watched as the blush spread down onto his neck. But Sokka was too busy staring at him to hear what he had said. 

“What was that?” 

Zuko mumbled again, blushing an impossible shade of red. “I said you look cute,” Zuko stuttered, and Sokka couldn’t help himself as a grin spread across his face. 

“ _That_ ,” said Sokka while placing a kiss on the other boy’s cheek, “was the most adorable thing ever.” He watched and Zuko coughed, clearly not expecting such a blatantly compliment, but Sokka couldn’t help himself. Who knew that the prince of the fire nation was such a hopeless romantic?

Sokka smiled, but he couldn’t help his expression as it became more serious. He knew Zuko and Katara were about to leave, and he watched as Zuko tensed up under his gaze.

“Hey,” Zuko said softly, grabbing Sokka’s hand once more. “Everything’s going to be okay”

“I know, I’m just worried for Azula after you guys kick her ass.” That earned a laugh from the other boy. But his laughter wasn’t enough to disguise the worry that began to swim in Zuko’s eyes. Sokka sighed, deciding to wrap his arms around Zuko instead of trying to find the right words to explain how he was feeling right now. 

He felt Zuko hug him back, his arms warm and strong around his waist. He wanted that to last forever, but he knew that destiny had other plans.

Zuko pulled away, and Sokka felt the warmth go with him. He took a second to stare blatantly at Zuko, not caring who was watching. He looked at his toned arms, and strong legs and broad shoulders and smiling face. He swore that Zuko’s smiles were worth more than anything else in the world, and he knew he would do anything to keep that smile on his face. Sokka kissed him gently, tasting the ever-present fire that lived inside him. 

“Stay safe, please,” Sokka heard himself whisper. Zuko nodded against his lips, a simple promise that he would come back alive.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Zuko whispered back, and this time it was Sokka that laughed.

“I can’t promise you that,” he said with a wink, pulling away from Zuko for the last time. “I can’t speak for Toph and Suki, but stupid plans are kind of my thing.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, and Sokka was sure he was thinking about their boiling rock fiasco. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” He said after a moment, and watched as his words made the other boy visibly relax. 

From a distance he heard Katara call their names, and a part of him wanted to ignore it, wanted to shut out the rest of the world and forget about their destinies and responsibilities. He heard her voice get louder as she called out again, this time with more urgency. He watched as Zuko’s eyes looked over at her, firm and calculating. If only Sokka had half of his confidence. 

“Ready, Zuko?” He asked finally, though the look on his face gave him all the answer that he needed. Zuko nodded back at him before quickly kissing his forehead.

“It looks like it's time for a little family reunion.”

-

Pain clouded Sokka’s vision. 

His right arm was screaming, bent backwards as he tried his best to hold up Toph. He could feel her grip slipping with every passing second, pulse racing as he tried his hardest to hold her up. She was shouting something, but her voice was lost in the wind that was whipping around the warship. 

In the distance, Sokka could just make out Aang and Ozai fighting; the bursts of light being the only things that allowed Sokka to keep some hope alive that Aang had a chance of winning. He knew that kid was tough, but the fire lord was another level of _psycho_. 

He felt the ship shake suddenly, sending shock waves down the metal that he was holding onto. Wondering what made the impact, he turned his head as far as he could and saw _Suki_.

“Suki!” He called out, voice getting lost in the wind. He heard Toph family screaming below him, and he prayed that he could hold on just another second longer. It wasn’t until Suki was right beneath him did he let Toph go, falling to safety before allowing himself to drop next to her.

Pain was screaming in his leg as he landed, the fall had been a lot higher than he had anticipated, but he was too relieved that Suki was back to care.His vision was blurry as the others crowded around him, Toph holding onto his arm as Suki looked at his ankle. 

“Where’s Aang?” Sokka managed to croak out, voice laced with pain as he fought down a scream. He saw Toph shrug briefly, before turning his full attention to Suki who was busy looking over his head.

“I think he's got things under control.” She said. Sokka heard a loud crash echo out from behind him, and winced instinctively. “At least, I think he does.”

“Come on,” said Sokka, bracing himself to get up. “We need to land this thing so we can help Aang.”

It turns out that landing a giant fire nation warship was just as hard as getting one to fly, and Sokka had never wished that appa was with them more than in that moment. Though it wasn’t the smoothest landed (Sokka thought he might have gotten a concussion from how hard the ship hit the ground), they were on the ground at last.

He heard Toph cheer as she stepped foot on the ground again, but all Sokka could focus on was the burning smell from the forest in front of them. It had been completely burned to the ground; ashes being the only remains of what used to be a flourishing earth kingdom ecosystem. Sokka frowned, unable to stop the guilty feeling that was bubbling in his stomach.

And then he saw _him_. 

It was Ozai, the fire lord, kneeling in front of Aang without any restraints. 

“Aang!” Sokka called out, attempting to run towards him, but wincing in pain before he could take more than a few steps. “What are you doing?”

Aang looked over at him, and for the first time Sokka could see all of the past avatar’s in his face. His expression was timeless, as though he had witnessed this exact moment a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes.

“He won’t harm anyone else ever again,” said Aang, voice echoing across the land that stretched between them. “I took away his bending.”

Sokka heard Suki and Toph gasp, and he was sure that the sound that came out of his mouth was all the same. Sokka’s heart swelled with pride for the boy in front of him. He had accomplished so much, and Sokka was thankful that he was able to call him his friend.

He took a tentative step forward, towards Ozai and Aang, before stopping himself. He could see the rage and anger and betrayal written on Ozai’s face, but Sokka couldn’t find it in him to feel any pity. All he could think of was Zuko and the scars and the _pain_ that he caused his own son.

Zuko deserved better than _that_ as a father.

-

Sokka was a mess. He hadn’t slept in over thirty-six hours, hadn’t eaten in at least twenty, but all he could focus on was Zuko. Sokka still hadn’t seen him, and although the others said he was okay he couldn’t help the anxiety that had rooted itself in his stomach.

 _He’s alive_ , Sokka thought to himself, trying to control his breathing. _Everything is fine. Katara is fine, so he is too_

Aang set a gentle hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Aang smile softly at him, eyes glistening with relief and confidence. “Sokka, you worry too much,” he said laughing.

“That’s my job,” Sokka said, feeling a smile grow on his face.

“I’m glad it’s not my job.”

“Well it should be! You’re the avatar after all,”

Aang laughed before sitting down next to him. “I was thinking about retiring, you know.”

Sokka laughed at that, and seeing the goofy grin that Aang was wearing made him laugh even harder. 

“What?” Laughed Aang, shrugging his shoulders. “I think I deserve a break.”

Sokka swung his arm around the other boy, rubbing his hand fondly on Aang’s head. “Yeah, you do. I’m proud of you.”

At that statement, Aang turned bright red. “You sound like Katara,” he mumbled, trying to hide the smile that was still on his face. 

“Oh boy, I didn’t realize that I had become so _motherly_.”

“What was that?” Katara said, popping her head out of the doorway. Instantly, Sokka stood up, grabbing Aang’s arm for support. His leg was still in the splint and his right arm was bandaged to the point where crutches still weren’t the best idea. 

“Nothing, Katara!” Called out Aang. “Can we come in now?”

She nodded, waving them over with her hand. The ball of nerves in Sokka’s stomach was tightening and the closer he got to the room the harder he felt it was to breathe. And then he walked in and saw him; the nerves inside him melting away as he broke away from Aang and limped towards the bed.

He flung his arms around Zuko before the other boy could even say a word, wanting nothing more than to just _feel_ his body pressed against Zuko’s. He felt the other boy sigh beneath him, and Sokka felt his arms wrap around his own neck.

“I told you to be careful!” Sokka mumbled into his neck, the feeling of relief washing over him like running water. He heard Zuko chuckle from underneath him.

“And I told you not to do anything stupid,” said Zuko into his ear, making shivers run down Sokka’s spine. 

“What’d you mean? I don’t think I did anything that dumb,” Sokka said, pulling away ever so slightly so that Zuko could look at his raised eyebrow. The other boy just smiled, reaching up to softly touch the Sokka’s cheek.

“Katara told me how you jumped off the side of one of the war ships,” he said, laughing as Sokka cursed under his breath. “I’d consider that pretty dumb.”

Sokka grinned at him. “I told you that was my thing!”

“What am I going to do with you?” Zuko said, voice warm and familiar. Sokka couldn’t stop himself from closing the gap between them again, lips touching as his eyes slid shut. Zuko was just as warm as he remembered, and Sokka melted into his touch.

The flames that burned bright inside Zuko were infectious, and Sokka felt the fire making its way into his own body, fusing Zuko’s soul with his own. Whispers of _I love you_ were written in the very flames that had danced their way into Sokka’s own heart, carving out a Zuko-sized space that Sokka knew would never be filled.

But _spirits_ , was he going to try.

-

_He thinks of Suki and Yue sometimes, when it’s quiet in the early mornings when the rest of the world is still asleep. He thinks of how he had tried to choose them as his soulmate. He thinks about how it didn’t work out; how Suki wasn’t his soulmate and how he wasn’t Yue’s._

_And then, as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, he thinks about Zuko, about how easily their souls seemed to match together, and realized that with Zuko there wasn’t really ever a choice at all_. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> the original summary for this was just "yeah soulmates motherfuckers!" and honestly it was probably more accurate than the actual summary I gave. anyways feel free to come chat with me about zukka over on [tumblr](https://flrelord.tumblr.com/) cause they own my ass :)


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